We’re Back from Alaska—Inside Passage, Calving Glaciers, Denali, Grizzlies, Moose and More

My bride and I just returned from our fourth annual pilgrimage to Alaska. Sandi and I seem to be addicted to the endless, expansive, inimitable and inexpressible natural beauty of Alaska. We can’t get enough, so we keep going back for more. Not a bad addiction!

We did the Inside Passage again, but this time hit some spectacular areas we hadn’t seen before. But the prize was getting into the interior of Alaska and journeying up by rail to Denali National Park and taking a tour bus almost 93 miles into the park itself to the end of the road. Not only did we see Denali (formerly known as Mt. McKinley), the highest mountain in North America and third tallest peak on the planet at 20,320 feet or 6,190 m), but we experienced, what I’m dubbing, the Noah Anointing—the animals came to our tour bus ark of safety including many grizzly bears! More on that later including photos and videos of bears, moose, bighorn sheep and caribous up close—only feet away! Suffice it to say, Yah blessed us immensely. Did I mention the epic glacial calving we experienced in Glacier Bay? Again, stay tuned for pics and vids.

Here are several teasers that I snapped with my iPhone. We had five cameras going! There’s much more to come… 

This is the inside door of the pit toilets in Denali National Park—GRIZZLY BEAR COUNTRY!

Please stay tuned for more. You have seen anything yet. These are just a few photos snapped from an iPhone! We had five cameras (still and video) rolling…

 

Where are YOU on the political spectrum? Conservative Vs. Progressive

Generally speaking, social conservatives tend to act on the basis of principles—what is morally right or wrong. On the other hand, leftists, “progressives,” socialists, Marxists or fascists tend to act on the basis of whatever is politically expedient at the moment and justify their actions on the basis of their particular feelings, or what is politically correct at the moment. They act on the basis of “group think” and tend to favor mob rule—as long as their mob is ruling. What is morally right or wrong has little if any bearing on what they think or do. It’s whatever feels right to them at that moment.

Another way to characterize the actions of those who lean toward the left or “progressive” side politically is that for them “the (political) ends justify the means,” which is one step away from the satanic motto of “Do what thou wilt,” which is another way of saying, “If it feels good, do it.” This is nothing more than situational ethics or moral relativism. This is the religion of secular humanism where the rule of YHVH Elohim is rejected in favor of self-rule. In reality, this is nothing more than embracing the lie of the devil serpent at the tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden, when he questioned the Creator’s rule of law. When the first humans fell for Satan’s lie, this resulted in the introduction of sin and rebellion and destruction and death and man being separated from Elohim.

Broadly speaking, the political conservative tends to act more on the basis of universal and unchanging principles of right and wrong that are ultimately based on the divinely revealed truth of the laws found in the Bible. On the other hand, the political socialist acts on the basis of feelings and what man (not Elohim) thinks is right and wrong. We know what the Bible says about this:

There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. (Prov 14:12)

The conservative, by contrast, believes in self-rule and limited government because they don’t need big government to regulate every aspect of their lives by telling them what is right and wrong: They have God/Elohim and his word, the Bible, to do that and they realize that they are ultimately answerable to the Creator for their actions, and not to government. They walk in the fear of Elohim, not man. This makes them wise and knowledgeable, for the Bible says the fear of Elohim is the beginning of both knowledge and wisdom. This understanding keeps them on the moral straight and narrow path. Because they base their thoughts and actions on the firm foundation of divinely revealed biblical truth, they find that the constantly shifting moral standards of leftist “progressives”  to be illogical, foolish and impossible to understand. To the conservative right is always right and wrong is always wrong, and these definitions don’t change over time. Not so with the leftist “progressive.”

The social progressive leftist wants government (the bigger the better) to legislate their view of morality, which changes from generation to generation, hence the term “situational ethics” or “moral relativism.” They then turn their view of “morality” into an ideology and then into a political agenda, which they then they demand that the government enforce by the rule of law and cram down the throats of those who disagree with them. This is a form of fascism or government mandated authoritarianism. Extreme socialism is fascism. (The Nazis were fascists. Remember that the word Nazis was merely an acronym for Nationalsozialist or National Socialist.)

The ideology of government determining what is right and wrong becomes the socialist’s religion and is based on what the socialist feels (based on politically correct group-think) is best for society (i.e. their politically driven agendas). The state becomes the de facto god of the nation to enact and to enforce the socialist ideology. In the leftist socialists’ mind, this will lead to their version of a utopia or heaven on earth, which is a godless replacement for the paradise regained of the Garden of Eden heaven on earth, which the Bible refers to as the New Jerusalem, which Elohim promises to all those who embrace the biblical gospel message by trusting in and obeying Yeshua the Messiah.

The conservative loves Elohim as their God and is happy to follow his divinely revealed principles of the Bible, while the leftist socialist “progressives” are either ambivalent, apathetic or downright hateful toward Elohim and the Bible, and instead follow their feelings, which is usually based on politically correct group-think, which is the political system called democracy—or social democracy (i.e. socialism plus democracy). This is in opposition to the republican form of government which rules on the basis of principles that define what is right and wrong. These principle are often codified in a document like a constitution upon which all of society’s laws are based and which all members of society must follow. Most socialists disdain if not hate the U.S. Constitution, since it constrains them from fulfilling their unconstitutional agendas. By contrasts, a republican form of government, ideally, is based on a unchanging principles, while a democracy is based on the vicissitudinous feelings of the masses (beliefs that change over time).

In the United States, those who believe in a republican form of government believe in limited government and tend to be more biblically based, while those who believe in a more democratic form of government tend to reject the Bible and Christianity and want the state, without overtly admitting it, to be their god (to tell people what to do). This is ultimately rebellion against and a rejection of God and the Bible.

The Bible has a several terse statements for the secular humanist who prefers government over God/Elohim, and wants man to decide what is morally right and wrong instead of the Creator.

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise. (Prov 12:15)

He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered. (Prov 28:26)

Wisdom is too high for a fool: he openeth not his mouth in the gate. (Prov 24:7)

The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. (Prov 14:1)

For those who have ears to hear and a heart and mind to understand, I leave you with this:

If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? (Ps 11:3)

 

New Video: Winter in Hawaii—Nathan & Sandi’s 2018 Trip

 

Shabbat Shalom Beloved Fellow Saints!

As I often do early on the Shabbat morning, I strolled around my garden clutching my cup of organic coffee admiring the flowers in my personal Garden of Delight (the Hebrew meaning of Eden). As I talk to Elohim, I thank him for the wondrous beauty of his creation and praise him for his majesty. Remember what Yeshua said about the riches and wealth in this world?

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. (Matt 6:28–29)

Well, by Yeshua’s standards (and they are the true values to judge life by, NOT man’s artificially contrived ones based on pride and lust), I must be an exquisitely wealthy man: I currently have 16 species of flowers blooming in my garden!!! I praise Yah for this. My Eden brings me much joy, pleasure and delight. I carefully tend, protect and nourish my garden just like Elohim commissioned us to do at the beginning, and it blesses me back. Tending and keeping the garden was Elohim third Torah command to Adam and Eve (Gen 2:15).

And the Yehovah Elohim took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. (Gen 2:15)

Think about this for a moment. There’s something really deep, mystical and spiritual about gardening. For starters, it connects us to something beyond ourselves, which has a whole host of physical, emotional, mental and spiritual benefits.… But we’ll save that sermon for another time.

In the meantime, here are some photos I snapped this morning. (Remember the days of  film cameras where you had to wait days or weeks between the taking of and sharing photos with others?)

So turn your eyes away from the sewage dump called the news headlines, take a break and think about the majesty of our great Almighty Elohim and his splendiferous creation for a moment. Please enjoy as you feast your eyes on these.

 

 

Some Good News! Pro-Life Student Activism on the Rise (Hopefully)

Kudos to these young people for taking a stand against the murder of babies euphemistically called abortion. May more bold and righteous young people continue to rise up against this evil!

Bet you didn’t hear about this in the mainstream media. At the same time, an anti-god progressive liberal burps or sneezes, and it makes national headlines all over America!

Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity? (Ps 94:26)

From https://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/patrina-mosley/pro-life-students-partake-walkout-unborn

Pro-Life Students Partake in Walkout for Unborn

Patrina Mosley

By Patrina Mosley | April 12, 2018 | 12:05 PM EDT

Rocklin High School student Brandon Gillespie, who led the organization of #prolifewalkout, scheduled for April 11 at 10AM. (YouTube, CBS 13 Sacramento)

America’s most pro-life generation is at it again. Pro-life students across the country partook in a planned school walkout on Wednesday morning.

After a California high school history teacher was suspendedfor talking with students about whether pro-life students would receive the same support for their human rights concerns as those who engaged in the gun violence walkout, student Brandon Gillespie was inspired to organize a pro-life walkout for his school that has now spread across the country.

With the help of Students for Life of America, the nation’s largest pro-life organization with more than 1,200 groups in all 50 states, Gillespie and other pro-life students meeting on their campuses will receive “resources, legal help, and training for all who want to take a stand for life, to remember those lost to abortion, to call for support for mothers and their pre-born infants, and to demand that Planned Parenthood be defunded,” says Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America.

Also, the Thomas More Society will be there to offer “legal help, free of charge, to students as they prepare to exercise their constitutional rights to stand up for life and to students who encounter a pro-abortion double standard at their schools,” said Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Law Center.

Gillespie says, “I just want to spread awareness about the cruel things that are happening in Planned Parenthood clinics across the country, the cruel murder of these children who have done nothing wrong.”

Gillespie has inspired other students across the country to stand courageously for the dignity and sanctity of life.

Luke Gutierrez, 16, has organized a pro-life walkout for his school simply because he didn’t see anybody else doing it. He said he takes a stand against the one-sided agenda pushed to him and his fellow peers every day because he knows God created every person with a purpose, and that view should be represented as well.

In a promotional video for his pro-life walkout, he points out that 17 people tragically died in the Parkland high school shooting, but roughly 1,700 people die every day because of abortion.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 600,000 abortions were performed in the U.S. in 2014—with Planned Parenthood responsible for more than a third. In 2016, Planned Parenthood claimed to have aborted 881 babies per day—or one every 98 seconds. Since Roe v. Wade, we have lost more than 60 million people to abortion.

Gutierrez admits he is usually a shy guy and does not like to get out of his comfort zone, but he knows “[there are] issues in life you have to stand for and even though I’m a kid … if we don’t stand up for them, who will?”

This generation is showing no fear in the face of liberal bias in the classroom and on university campuses. There are some things that pro-life students are seeing as more important than getting their peers’ and teachers’ approval.

The moral conscience of our nation is rising. The voices of victims of the abortion industry are becoming louder. The wounded are becoming warriors, and abortion is becoming unthinkable.

As a pro-life generation, we hope to one day take our future grandchildren to an abortion clinic-turned-museum to remember a time when the unborn had no voice, and to declare, “No more.”

Patrina Mosley is Director of Life, Culture and Women’s Advocacy at Family Research Council.

 

Indiana Adopts Law That Counts Unborn Children as Persons

Please pray that what has happened in Indiana will spread across this nation! This is a major step in the right direction in the spiritual battle against abortion. May YHVH bless the governor and legislators of Indiana for this bold action.

From https://www.christianheadlines.com/blog/indiana-adopts-law-that-counts-unborn-children-as-persons.html

Veronica Neffinger | Editor, ChristianHeadlines.com | Tuesday, April 10, 2018
Indiana Adopts Law That Counts Unborn Children as Persons

INDIANA ADOPTS LAW THAT COUNTS UNBORN CHILDREN AS PERSONS


The state of Indiana has adopted a new law that essentially grants personhood to unborn children.

Relevant Magazine reports that Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb has signed a bill into law that allows suspects to be charged with murder if they harm a pregnant woman who then loses her unborn child.

Pro-life supporters are championing this bill, as it acknowledges the personhood of unborn children. The law, however, does not apply to legally obtained abortions.

The law also brings to mind the Old Testament passage which says:

“Now suppose two men are fighting, and in the process they accidentally strike a pregnant woman so she gives birth prematurely. If no further injury results, the man who struck the woman must pay the amount of compensation the woman’s husband demands and the judges approve. But if there is further injury, the punishment must match the injury: a life for a life” (Exodus 21:22-23).

This law was brought to the attention of the state’s lawmakers by a woman whose 11-months-pregnant daughter was shot and killed. The woman felt it was unjust that the killer could not be tried for the death of the unborn child as well as the death of her daughter.

The law will go into effect in July 2018.

 

 

Home Churches—The NT Answer to Terrorism

Church bombings in Egypt, churching burnings in Africa and Asia, churches being shot up in America—what’s the solution? Home churches!

Think about it. Home churches are harder for terrorists to find and enter. They’re easier to protect. In a home church, everyone knows everyone, so terrorist can’t infiltrate as easily. They’re usually more spiritually vibrant, so less likely for the devil and his minions to take out. There are less people congregated in more places making it a more difficult target for the enemy to hit and to take out.

Also, it’s easier to invite family and friends to a home church or Bible study than to a building. That works well for evangelism!

Home churches are also tough on the unbiblical model of institutionalized religious structures, centralized denominations and hireling pastors, since it’s generally harder on the business model of the church system (i.e. controlling people for the purpose of collecting money), but it’s better for the people and their spiritual growth. This is a good thing. Plus home churches follows the NT model. Go read the book of Acts.

Home churches were the apostles answer to church persecution in their day. Again, go read the book of Acts!

From The Christian Post at https://www.christianpost.com/news/36-isis-suspects-sentenced-death-killing-christians-egypt-church-bombings-222803/

36 ISIS Suspects Sentenced to Death for Egypt Church Bombings 

Thirty-six militants accused of being part of Islamic State cells in Egypt have received preliminary death sentences for their alleged involvement in the bombing of three churches.

A military court has referred the cases of 36 defendants to the nation’s Grand Mufti with the recommendation that they be put to death. The defendants were convicted of being involved in four different acts of terror that occurred in 2016 and 2017, including the bombings of two churches on Palm Sunday last year, and an attack on a police checkpoint. They’re also accused of being part of the Islamic State cells in Cairo and Qena.

The cases were originally referred to the military court by Egypt’s Attorney General Nabil Sadek.

Two of the attacks occurred on April 9, 2017, when churches in Tanta and Alexandria were bombed during Palm Sunday attacks that were later claimed by the Islamic State terrorist group. The bombings took the lives of 47 people and injured over 120 others.

Additionally, some were convicted for their involvement in the bombing of the Botroseya Church in Cairo on Dec. 11, 2016, which took the lives of 29 people and injured 47. That attack was also claimed by the Islamic State.

The other attack occurred last January when eight policemen were killed and three were wounded during an attack on a police checkpoint in the New Valley.

The Egyptian news site Al-Ahram reports that the military court has referred the case to the Grand Mufti, Egypt’s highest official of religious law who weighs in with legal opinions and edicts. Earlier this year, the Grand Mufti approved the death sentence of a Muslim man who brutally murdered a Coptic priest in a Cairo street.

The convictions of the 36 suspects are subject to appeal. In addition, prosecutors charged three of the defendants with providing other militants with combat training at training camps and with training other militants to manufacture bombs.

According to Daily News Egypt, the case involves a total of 48 defendants who have all been accused of joining an illegal terror group and were not only involved in the four attacks but were also planning to launch other violent attacks inside Cairo that would have targeted Christians.

Reuters reports that 11 of the 36 are being tried in absentia. An official verdict is expected on May 15.

As Coptic Christians comprise about 10 percent of the Egyptian population, the community has faced numerous attacks from radicals in the past year-plus. In addition to the bombings, a number of Copts have been brutally killed in separate attacks and Christians’ homes have been burned.

Egypt ranks as the 17th-worst nation in the world when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USA’s 2018 World Watch List.

The persecution comes as President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi has extended an olive branch to the Coptic community and has tried to foster peace and protection for the persecuted Christians.

In 2015, Sisi gave a speech before Muslim leaders at Egypt’s 1,000-year-old Al-Azhar University where he called for the Muslim leaders to lead a “religious revolution” that embraces peace rather than violence.

Sisi has also attended masses during Christian holidays to show his solidarity with the Coptic community. After he came to power in 2014, Sisi personally ordered the rebuilding of dozens of churches that were destroyed by Muslim Brotherhood extremists.

“When a law passed by parliament to protect churches was trapped in a maze of bureaucracy and indifference, [Sisi] intervened, ordering it all to be sped up,” American religious freedom advocate and informal advisor to the Trump administration Johnnie Moore wrote in an op-ed this week. “Under President el-Sisi, Egypt’s religious establishment has also signaled moderation.”